Powered mixers are popular in retail outlets selling paint. When the paint is vended in five gallon buckets (or similar containers), considerable effort required to lift the buckets into and out of the mixers. One fort of assistance has been to provide a roller conveyor in front of one version of a paint mixer to raise the bucket to a height at or near that necessary to slide the bucket into the mixer. However, with xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d type paint mixers further lifting effort is still required to move the bucket between the conveyor and mixer. The present invention reduces this effort and provides an attachment that makes it easier to lift five gallon buckets or similar containers of paint into and out of xe2x80x9cdrop-inxe2x80x9d type paint mixers. The present invention will accomplish its function whether or not a conveyor is present in front of the mixer.
The present invention, in one aspect, includes a lifting attachment apparatus for lifting paint containers into and out of paint mixers, where the attachment apparatus is in combination with the paint mixer and includes a paint mixer supported by a generally horizontal surface with at least one side, at least one lifting arm including a proximal end pivotably connected to the paint mixer and a distal end extending beyond the side of a paint mixer, a mechanical link connected to the lifting arm intermediate the proximal and distal ends for lifting and lowering a paint container into and out of the paint mixer, and a spring means connected between the paint mixer and the lifting arm for urging the lifting arm vertically upwards.
The present invention, in another aspect, includes a method of assisting movement of a paint container into and out of a paint mixer according to the steps of providing a lifting attachment having at least one lifting arm with a proximal end pivotably connected to a paint mixer and a distal end extending beyond a side of a paint mixer, a mechanical link connected to the lifting arm intermediate the proximal and distal ends for lifting and lowering a paint container into and out of the paint mixer, and spring means connected between the paint mixer and the lifting arm for urging the lifting arm vertically upwards, engaging the mechanical link to the paint container; and assisting movement of the paint container with respect to the mixer by moving the lifting arm with the assistance of the spring means.